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Is anyone familiar with rosewood oil? I have heard of teakwood oil, but never rosewood.
A quick search on Google came up with all sorts of rosewood oils to be used for skin care. Obviously the wrong rosewood oil.
I just acquired a manual via eBay for my Beocord 8004 and the posted pictures showed an admonishment for using anything but rosewood oil on the veneers.
I have used Old English Lemon Oil for decades on all my B&O equipment with what appears to be excellent results. But still a warning not to do so from the company has got my attention.
Most of the wood veneers on my various Beomasters, Beograms, and Beocords are in very good condition, but my latest acquisitions: Beomaster 1600 and 2400 were both in rather tattered condition and both responded beautifully to the Old English Lemon Oil, which is not “lemon oil” at all, but a petroleum based product.
Even more remarkable was the transformation of my Beomaster 1000 which looked beyond terrible and now looks virtually like new.
Still, if there is a better way to care for these veneers I sure would like to hear about it.
Thanks. [:0]
Jeff
Beogram 4000, Beogram 4002, Beogram 4004, Beogram 8000, Beogram 8002, Beogram 1602. Beogram 4500 CD player, B&O CDX player, Beocord 4500, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 5000 T4716, Beocord 8004, Beocord 9000, Beomaster 1000, Beomaster 1600, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 2400.2, Beomaster 4400, Beomaster 4500, Beolab 5000, Beomaster 5000, BeoCenter 9000. BeoSound Century, S-45.2, S-45.2, S-75, S-75, M-75, M-100, MC 120.2 speakers; B&O Illuminated Sign (with crown & red logo). B&O grey & black Illuminated Sign, B&O black Plexiglas dealer sign, B&O ash tray, B&O (Orrefors) dealer award vase, B&O Beotime Clock. Navy blue B&O baseball cap, B&O T-shirt X2, B&O black ball point pen, B&O Retail Management Binder
I will never go away from boiled linseed oil. sand, oil, sand lightly, oil, polish, done and the grain stays out like new
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
Søren Mexico: I will never go away from boiled linseed oil. sand, oil, sand lightly, oil, polish, done and the grain stays out like new
Hi Søren,
I just acquired the manual for the Beocord 8004 and made the mistake of actually reading it. I gotta stop that sort of thing, a little knowledge is dangerous, and in my case redundant. Sorry about that.
I know you are partial to linseed oil and with good reason. However what caught my attention in the manual is maintenance rather than refinishing as you would with linseed oil…… and it is maintenance that I was interested in. (Note the past tense “was.”)
The manual says, “Teak and rosewood cabinets. If the cabinet surfaces seem grey and dry you can apply a thin film of teak or rosewood oil, though not more than once or twice a year.”
I did a bit of research on veneers a couple of years ago and found that once the tree is cut down and fashioned into furniture or cabinets in our case, once finished/sealed that’s it for maintenance other than periodic dusting.
There are two exceptions, teak and rosewood which are oily woods that “dry out” over time and benefit from being “oiled” several times a year. This is where I got into “trouble.”
I Googled rosewood oil and was surprised by the sheer number of products intended for general human health, that is skin care. Well that is most certainly not the product the manual was talking about.
I then found what actually DOES look like rosewood oil for wood on Amazon.com, but first considered it best to see what the cognoscenti here on BeoWorld thought. As in does anyone use this sort of product and do they like it? Note, there is no application instructions, just a picture of the small bottle.
OK, time to go back to my reference books on wood care and the “bottom line” is they recommend boiled linseed oil (as does Søren) as an easy to use product, but one that offers “poor protection.” The favored choice is an oil/varnish blend marketed by Watco, Behr, Minwax and others that have better protection.
As the oil/varnish blend requires curing time like the linseed oil or simply applying stain, this is more refinishing to me rather than periodic maintenance.
The product I have been using is one I grew up with, Old English Lemon oil, which as previously stated has nothing to do with lemons, but is a petroleum based product that is a superb cleaner for wood and metal alike and leaves an attractive sheen on both. (What this lemon oil does for stainless steel appliances is remarkable!)
However with an oily wood like rosewood the product I am using is not in any way replenishing the natural oils in the wood, but rather leaving a petroleum oil coating on the wood surface that evaporates over time and needs to be renewed.
In addition applying either this faux lemon oil or rosewood oil too often can cause the veneer to lift, which must be avoided and I don’t know which is more likely to cause veneer lifting, my fake oil or the real deal rosewood oil.
So is there a product called rosewood oil and if so, does it differ in any way from boiled linseed oil or the oil/varnish blend?
If there is no difference fine, but it ain’t periodic maintenance, as the manual would indicate, its restoration.
Thanks for your patience Søren. Once again I find myself going full circle and ending up exactly where I started, still confused as to the care for most of the veneers, which apparently don’t need much, but I wouldn’t mind knowing if there really is a rosewood oil.
I use Danish Oil which is the same really as rosewood oil. Infrequent use is the key.
Peter
Peter: I use Danish Oil which is the same really as rosewood oil. Infrequent use is the key.
Thank you Peter.
Danish Oil, Linseed Oil, Rosewood Oil are remarkably similar in application as well as the satin finish they provide. It is what I will use when I get motivated to refinish the cabinet on the Beomaster 1000.
This is not the first time I have fallen into this trap, but we are all products of our upbringing, and mine says if you CARE for furniture (in this case stereo cabinets) you polish them with a product that nourishes the wood. This was blatant false advertising in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s as no polish nourishes wood in the manner claimed…. still I find myself “programmed” to try.
So the manual says to use “rosewood oil” (Danish Oil Linseed Oil) no more than twice a year. I can not imagine why they would recommend what is essentially refinishing the veneers twice a year, but whatever.
I take tremendous pride in maintaining that which is in my care: furniture, appliances, automobiles, and of course stereos.
Wood that looks dry and or stained can’t be “conditioned” to new looking appearance by some product commonly found in a grocery store, the wood needs a light sanding and an appropriate application of Linseed Oil, Tung Oil, Danish Oil, or Rosewood oil (your choice) as Søren keeps reminding me.
The television advertising for “Lemon oil, it’s good for your wood,” with the catchy jingle you found yourself humming during the day, was powerful and effective.
It is rather like Pavlov’s dog, I read “use rosewood oil” to preserve the appearance of the wood and like on command I go out looking for the product. I can’t decide if I am just slow to learn or exceedingly well programmed….. maybe a little of both.
Thank you for your input and patience.
Piaf: Peter: I use Danish Oil which is the same really as rosewood oil. Infrequent use is the key. Thank you Peter. Danish Oil, Linseed Oil, Rosewood Oil are remarkably similar in application as well as the satin finish they provide. It is what I will use when I get motivated to refinish the cabinet on the Beomaster 1000.
Hi Jeff,
Danish oil is an example one of the oil and varnish blends that you mentioned in your previous post - it's typically around one-third varnish and two-thirds oil.
Compared with linseed oil, Danish oil will tend to result in a finish that is a little more hard wearing but as Peter mentioned it shouldn't be reapplied too frequently. In contrast you can pretty much reapply linseed oil as frequently as you wish but the downside is that you will need to keep doing so to provide continued protection as the lack of any varnish means you are relying on the oil itself to seal the wood.
Either will provide a very similar finish if applied appropriately.
Kind Regards,
Martin.
Hi Martin,
Thank you kindly for your insightful input which is much appreciated.
The vast majority of my prized B&O equipment do not require any of the treatment oils that are basically refinishing oils, not maintenance products.
I have only two candidates for Danish Oil, Linseed Oil, or Rosewood Oil and they would be a pair of S75 speakers and my Beomaster 1000.
The speakers were gifts and one in particular is ratty. I previously resealed these speakers with a Minwax product that left them much improved but with too much of a glossy finish. Not bad, but not quite right either.
I need to do light sanding of these speakers and then apply the proper Danish Oil.
The Beomaster 1000 is another matter. The cabinet is in need of refinishing with Danish Oil but it responses so well to the faux Old English Lemon Oil that I don’t feel pressed to refinish it.
Once I am ready to have this receiver rebuilt I will address the cabinet, which is in pretty good shape.
Thanks for your input!
Hi Lee,
At the time I looked previously I believe I found one item that wasn’t a health care item. Now I find only rosewood oil intended as a health care supplement. As many of these products look alike with little or no description, it is entirely possible that I simply made a mistake. In any case, I find no rosewood oil intended for wood refinishing currently on Amazon.com. Sorry about that.